Are you ready for Thanksgiving? And for the uniquely American bonfire of commerce otherwise known as Black Friday? It’s going to be a doozy of a shopping day. Plus – here’s to JR Martinez for taking home that Dancing With The Stars mirror ball. It’s nice to catch a show where the guy who should win, does win. Rather like the PCA’s, I might add. Speaking of which, let’s return to this year’s icon-ography.

We have Favorite Movie Icon nominees…those uber-cool dudes who star in (and direct, and write, and produce) movies that we love and who have been doing this for literally decades. Pretty incredible group so far…George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman…and today?

The coolest, most intensely charismatic tough guy around: Robert DeNiro.

Now I say “tough guy” because of the whole Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Godfather(s) and Raging Bull stuff, but in reality Robert DeNiro is also funny, charming, and just plain powerful on screen, regardless of the subject matter. What’s your first memory of Robert DeNiro? For me, it was the baseball film Bang The Drum Slowly, arguably one of the greatest sports movies of all time. Within 5 years DeNiro would go on to make Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter, at which point the America’s greatest living actor talk really got going. The 2 Oscars and 6 Oscar nominations haven’t hurt him in that regard either.

But seriously – here’s a guy known for his genius playing mob types and yet, he’s fantastic in the Meet The Parents movies and I also happened to love Everybody’s Fine (even if critics didn’t). Plus the love stories – who saw New York, New York (with Liza Minnelli) and Falling In Love (with Meryl Streep)? I think if you take a moment and watch these smaller, quieter movies one gains an even greater appreciation for this guy. There’s not too much DeNiro can’t do. Notoriously private, what we do know about him is that he’s about as devoted a New Yorker as anybody, and after 9/11 he was one of Manhattan’s most emphatic spokesmen – encouraging people to visit and rejuvenate his hometown. He started the Tribeca Film Festival (which brings a tremendous amount of income to the city) and owns several restaurants. By the way, did you know that the ubiquitous national anthem of New York City “New York, New York” actually came from that 1977 movie? Liza Minnelli put that tune on the map and then of course Sinatra worked a little magic with it too.

DeNiro remains humble and publicity shy, preferring to let the body of work speak for itself. Which it has indeed. Is Robert DeNiro your Favorite Movie Icon? If so, don’t forget to vote and let your voice be heard. You’ll know all on January 11th, 2012. We’ll be back with more PCA nominees next week, in the meantime please have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Cheers!

This man is my idol yet I can tell you his best film isn’t in your top 5, because its so underrated and not too popular but the greatest film I’ve ever seen. “Awakenings” co-starring Robin Williams. Watch it and I’ll stay posted for the updated version of your top five :)

He is the scariest man on earth when he says “Counselllouurrr” in Cape Fear, Shocking and mesmarizing in Goodfellas(the scene at Tommy’s mother house), Incredible in Godfather 2, the weirdest person in King of Comedy(imagine how awkward it would be to meet Rupert), an absolute Boss in Casino(I will own a teal suit one day), a kind caring father in A Bronx Tale (which he wrote and directed), a hardass in Men of Honor(Dammit Cookie!), untimely quotable in Taxi Driver (almost as scary as Cape Fear), but by far his best role, and in my opinion, the best role that any actor has ever done in American Cinema is Raging Bull…

I think its the only black and white movie ive ever sat through but it is absolutely the best movie I own…RD will go down as the best actor of all time

Without a doubt, Raging Bull, was the pinnacle peak of acting for an actor to portray.Robert DeNiro exemplified total immersion into a character ,Jake Lamotta, covering a two decade boxing career, exuding every manifestation of the man’s physical, psychological, and spiritual challenges encountered.A Tour de Force work of incomparable acting.

Robert DeNiro is the best actor ever. I love this man. There’s absolutely nothing that he’s done that doesn’t get 5 stars. Robert is like chocolate you get a high from him. He’s the godfather of movies. Everytime I see this man’s name in a movie I watch…why because I know it’s will be well worth it. This man is to be celebrated. He’s so talented god given talent. He was meant to act. THANK YOU HOLLYWOOD FOR DISCOVERING THIS GREAT MAN.

DeNiro is the finest actor of our time… he is just
unmatchable – he can do anything — no way to pick any
one film of his — I have all of his films and replay
them all the time…. the guy is just so great…. There’s nobody like DeNiro – Keep them coming, “Bobbie” –
The world loves you!

I have a bad memory. There are three things I can never remember—– Enough of the Victor Borge jokes. I remember “The Deer Hunter” and Diniro’s performance in that best. “Taxi Driver”, and “Raging Bull” were classics, but “The Deer Hunter” really hit home.

I have seen many of his films, a lot of them mentioned here. My favorite would be Sleepers, then Men of Honor. Cape Fear scared the hell out of me. He made Robert Mitchum’s character look like an angel. But no one can argue with Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Heat, The Deer Hunter, etc, etc. A great American actor, and human being and whatever other adjectives one might want to add to the list.

V-nice: FYI, DeNiro was not in The Godfather – he auditioned, but was not cast. He won the Best Supporting Actor for Godfather II.
About the other choice…

REALLY?????????
Meet the Parents. Come on! The only possible conclusion I can draw is that voters weighing on for this must not have had an opportunity to see MARTIN SCORSESE’S film noir masterpiece, Raging Bull…any other explanation is mystifying to me.
DeNiro won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Jake LaMotta, the former World Middleweight Champion boxer. His performance in this film was nothing less than a revelation. It has been widely acclaimed for decades as the actor’s most overwhelmingly transformational of his career. He completely immersed himself in the role by altering his physical appearance in the ultimate Method-acting performance. As a lean boxer, he rigorously trained with La Motta for the boxing sequences, and then bloated out to pack on FIFTY POUNDS MORE weight for the film’s tragic ending as the ultimate portrait of a defeated has-been. DeNiro’s Oscar winning performance required an incredible transformation of his character over a 23-year period (from 1941 to 1964), including La Motta’s two marriages, boxing ring fights with the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson (to whom he lost the World’s Middleweight Championship title), and his decline to a Miami, Florida nightclub owner and an obese, sleazy, two-bit, lewd comedian in a New York nightclub. PLEASE SEE THIS FILM!

Wow, I became a huge fan of his after seeing him in “This Boy’s Life” with Ellen Barkin and Leo DeCaprio. It was a great movie and DeNiro was so compelling to watch and his character is multi-faceted and scary as hell. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend!

In alphabetical order: A Bronx Tale, Cape Fear, Casino, The Deer Hunter, Godfather pt 2, Goodfellas, Heat, Midnight Run, Raging Bull, Ronin, Taxi Driver, and one I haven’t seen people say but he was just spot on amazing: The Untouchables. The scene where he takes the bat to that guy during a fancy dinner was…jaw dropping.

But if I had to pick just one, it would have to be Godfather pt. 2, simply because he was flawless in it.

Raging Bull. Being jaded, I know within the first 5 minutes, if I will watch the rest of the movie.I have never liked black and white movies. But within a few minutes I was rivetted, mesmerized, with jaw-dropping amazement, feeling the skin crawl in my back knowing that I was watching a movie that would resound through the ages What a TREMENDOUS TREMENDOUS performance. I always wonder would the movie be more better had it been filmed in color?

REALLY?????????
Meet the Parents. Come on! The only possible conclusion I can draw is that the vast majority of voters must not have had an opportunity to see MARTIN SCORSESE’S film noir masterpiece, Raging Bull…any other explanation is mystifying to me.
DeNiro won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Jake LaMotta, the former World Middleweight Champion boxer. His performance in this film was nothing less than a revelation. It has been widely acclaimed for decades as the actor’s most overwhelmingly transformational of his career. He completely immersed himself in the role by altering his physical appearance in the ultimate Method-acting performance. As a lean boxer, he rigorously trained with La Motta for the boxing sequences, and then bloated out to pack on FIFTY POUNDS MORE weight for the film’s tragic ending as the ultimate portrait of a defeated has-been. DeNiro’s Oscar winning performance required an incredible transformation of his character over a 23-year period (from 1941 to 1964), including La Motta’s two marriages, boxing ring fights with the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson (to whom he lost the World’s Middleweight Championship title), and his decline to a Miami, Florida nightclub owner and an obese, sleazy, two-bit, lewd comedian in a New York nightclub. PLEASE SEE THIS FILM!

I agree completely with Trey117’s comments especially the Meet the Parents films none of which were comedic let alone funny. I remember a line in Ronin where he states that the person they were looking for was in a town named Arles as if it was some obscure place that he had never heard of and most people had never heard of. Maybe that was meant to be comedic. Also, I don’t remember De Niro having a part in Godfather I. Am I wrong?

How the h*ll could you count such dreck as “Meet the Parents?” Completely unwatchable, unfunny cr*p. And lately with all the lousy sh*t coming out of Hollyweird that even great actors like DeNiro are starring in the whole system has gone to heck in a handbasket. I guess these superstars have realized that American are idiots and will watch anything. I haven’t been to a movie in years.

“Heat” – it’s the first time DeNiro and Pacino ever appeared in the same scene (they were both in “Godfather II”, but never in the same scene), and DeNiro looks/acts like he can kick Pacino’s ass in every sense of the word -

Very hard to pick a best. Limiting to those 4 is kinda stupid. If I have to pick from the four…it’s Godfather. But, Cape Fear is where I really saw his ability to convincingly transform into any character he takes on.